Maple Leafs Force a Game 7

By

David George-Cosh

May 12, 2013 11:25 p.m. ET

TORONTO—It's down to the wire for the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Leafs won their first playoff game at home in nine years after defeating the Bruins 2-1 in Game 6 of the NHL Eastern Conference quarter-final Sunday night, pushing the series to a final game on Monday.

Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf scored after 1:48 in the third period, while Phil Kessel netted the eventual game winner later in the period.

Boston came within one after pulling Tuukka Rask from net in the dying seconds of the third that allowed Milan Lucic to score in front of the Toronto net from a deft pass from future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr.

"It's a special situation and one of those memories that you'll look back on when this is all over," said Reimer. "But we're definitely focussing on tomorrow and not how this one feels."

After a few stumbles early in the series, both Boston and Toronto cranked up the intensity in Game 6. It was a must-win game for the Leafs, who were down 3-2 in the series after winning Game 5 in Boston.

"We felt like we were generating some opportunities and we were making good smart plays that were allowing us to get some zone time," Phaneuf said. "And when you get zone time, good things happen."

Playing at home—and with their season on the line—seemed to invigorate the Leafs, who opened up the first period with some strong forechecking in the Boston zone. Boston quickly caught up, paring back some of Toronto's momentum midway into the period.

Both teams failed to get on the scoreboard in the first period, playing somewhat cautiously to avoid spending any time in the penalty box. The second period wasn't much better, although both Boston and Toronto starting to scrap earnestly for the puck at both ends of the ice.

Reimer was unstoppable in the first half of the game, stopping a couple point blank shots off Bruins center Gregory Campbell, while diving to save a Patrice Bergeron wraparound attempt. Meanwhile, Rask flashed the glove to steal away a sure goal from Phanuef in the dying seconds of the second period.

The scoreless draw ended early in the third period when Phaneuf deflected a slapshot from Nazem Kadri that bounced into the Boston net.

With the series now tied 3-3, the teams now head back to Boston for the deciding game of the series. The winner will face either the Washington Capitals or New York Rangers, who forced a Game 7 of their own with a 1-0 victory Sunday night.

"It's one game that decides your season," said Rask. "We just have to try to play our best game of the year. We've played some great games this season and we've played some awful games. The past two games have not been in the [first] category, so tomorrow is are only chance to end the season with a great game."

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